The foreword to the Department for Transport’s policy paper bills
the Williams-Shapps Plan as the ‘biggest change to the railways
in 25 years.’
On Wednesday May 26, the Transport Committee will hear directly
from Keith Williams, architect of the Rail Review, and the
Secretary of State for Transport, MP. They’ll be joined by key commentators in a one-off
session to consider the Government’s vision and plans to deliver
better rail services across Britain.
Following the chaotic rollout of the national timetable change in
May 2018, the predecessor Transport Committee concluded that the
crisis was partly due to the ‘astonishing complexity’ of a
fragmented railway which failed to cope with the scale of the
changes. The Committee said it should be the catalyst for genuine
change’ for everyone who relies on the railway.
Several years later and during a time of profound impact from a
pandemic, MPs will consider what the Government’s White Paper
will mean for rail sector and passengers.
Witnesses
At 09.30:
· Nigel Harris, Managing Editor at Rail (Magazine)
At 10:00:
· Sir Peter Hendy, Chair at Network Rail
· Andy Bagnall, Director General at Rail Delivery Group.
At 10:45:
· Rt Hon MP, Secretary of State at Department for Transport
· Keith Williams, Chair at Williams Rail Review
Please note that Parliament has stopped all non-essential visitor
access to both Houses due to the circumstances around
coronavirus. The session will be available to watch online, and a
transcript will be published on the
website a few days afterwards.
